My anecdata and long gallbladder sob-story:

My mother, mother-in-law, uncle, two sisters, and I haven't seen changes in our digestion (or other problems) as a result of cholecystectomy. I spoke to all of them extensively in the lead-up to my procedure in 2022. I was concerned about negative outcomes, though very little would likely have dissuaded me from getting the procedure.

For us, at least, there really haven't been any negative outcomes. I'm sorry to hear the author has issues. For me, the whole ordeal ended up being a positive experience.

I had my first gallstone "attack" in my early 20s. From then until my mid-30s I'd have an "attack" roughly once every eighteen months. They started with growing dull pain in my central upper abdomen directly below my sternum. The pain would plateau and remain for 2 to 3 hours before quickly fading. The fade was shockingly fast-- just a few minutes. Nearly all of my "attacks" were at night.

The pain was intense but dull-- nothing at all like the kidney stones I'd had in my early 20s thru mid-30s. I'll easily take 100 gallstones to 1 kidney stone. I could think and speak while suffering with a gallstone. Kidney stones reduced me to an unthinking, quivering shambles.

Other than recalling the difference in intensity and "sharpness" between gallstones and kidney stones I can't remember the pain well (aside: I'd argue being unable to vividly recall pain has been selected-for by evolution-- women who vividly recall childbirth are probably less likely to have multiple children).

I do have exceedingly vivid memories of the joy and relief of the pain subsiding. The expression "it feels so good when I stop hitting myself with a hammer" is absolutely true for me. Very little in life has felt better than pain receding.

My "attacks" mostly stopped in my mid-30s. I sort of forgot about them. In October 2022, a few months after my 45th birthday, I began having "attacks" every second or third night. A particularly bad one lasted over 6 hours. I radically decreased my food intake and saw a decrease in the frequency the "attacks". They continued and were disruptive enough to make me finally seek medical attention. (Being a typical American man I tend to avoid doctors for anything short of a severed limb-- and then only if I have trouble getting a tourniquet onto it.)

My GP wanted to explore acid reflux first and declined to order an ultrasound until we saw if an antacid relieved an attack. Fortunately (I guess) I demonstrated antacids having no efficacy in just a couple of days.

I pushed for an ultrasound on the basis of my symptoms' similarity to accounts from my mother and sisters. One sister had a multi-day hospitalization with acute pancreatitis and emergency cholecystectomy from her gallstones. She urged me to advocate for myself.

After the antacid proved ineffective my GP agreed to ordering an ultrasound. It revealed I had large gallstones. (The ultrasound technician told me "on the down low" that they were some of the largest he'd ever seen.)

I was able to have a laparoscopic cholecystectomy as an outpatient procedure a few weeks later. I had an excellent recovery. I was in bed for almost a week (though getting up and around was no problem-- just uncomfortable). I was lucky enough to experience sufficient pain relief using only OTC NSAIDs. I couldn't be more pleased with how the procedure turned out.

I do regret not being permitted to see or keep my stones. I got a photo w/ a ruler for reference (with the big stone being over 2cm in diameter), but I really wish I could have kept them. I told the surgeon I'd spent 45 years making them and thought I should be able to keep them. Policy, he said... >sigh<

I had weight loss prior to the procedure (around 20 pounds in two months) as a result of being afraid to eat. In the month following my procedure I was rarely hungry and continued to lose weight. When my appetite returned I decided to use the occasion of having already lost nearly 30 pounds to make significant lifestyle changes in hopes of continuing the weight loss.

I'd had obesity and hypertension diagnoses for over a decade. I'm happy to say I reached and have maintained a new weight roughly 60 pounds below my pre-procedure weight, attributable to changes in diet and moderately increased exercise. I'm still medicated for hypertension, but post-weight loss I pull much lower blood pressure readings. I was also able to discontinue one anti-hypertension prescription.

Al-in-all I wish I'd explored cholecystectomy earlier. More than that I wish I'd avoided weight gain in my 20s and 30s or, failing that, at least tried to lose weight earlier. I feel so much better, overall, than before the procedure and weight loss. I have fewer headaches, I don't get winded during daily activities, and I am actually able to get some enjoyment from physical exertion. I wish I hadn't waited until my mid-40s to get more in touch with my body.

Edit: Although I changed my diet significantly I do still eat a lot of the same foods I did before my procedure-- just less of them. I have a mostly vegan diet during the week (and eat a ton of cooked broccoli and occasional raw peanut butter-- two of the foods the author said were for them) and a more general diet on the weekends.

I've virtually eliminated refined sugar and bleached flour from my diet, aside from the very occasional treat of a baked good or ice cream. I don't worry too much about tracking macronutrients and just rely on eating a variety of foods. Caloric density is the main thing I worry about, and that drives me toward vegetables, fruits, and, when I have meat, mostly chicken.